When you’re sick, you sometimes lack the energy to do anything. You just want to curl up and sign off!

This verse hints towards the idea of carrying one another’s burdens. It makes me think of the guys who took the stretcher on to the roof and broke through to the presence of Jesus. When the man was stuck, he needed their strength for a breakthrough. (Though I always worry about the homeowner’s perspective.)

But Jesus saw their faith and everything changed forever.

Imagine being on death row, and receiving a last-minute reprieve. You are trapped, paralysed into an impossible position, but life has come to you from an outside source. The verse suggests that we can speak life, healing and salvation into one another’s lives.

Jesus said that a “mustard seed” of faith could accomplish staggering results.

When we realise who we are in Christ, then we begin to rise to the occasion that is before us. We stop over-thinking our own inadequacies and start to take the words of the Bible with a new seriousness. The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick! In this way, our prayers of love, service and faith blend into one powerful action. We become part of the way that God provides for those around us.